A Town Meeting article on building heights could help simplify the process of flood-proofing buildings for Marshfield residents and business owners.

Staff Reporter

A Town Meeting article on building heights could help simplify the process of flood-proofing buildings for Marshfield residents and business owners.

The article would allow those who are flood-proofing their structures to measure building height from the base flood elevation of their property, identified in the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps, instead of from the height of the adjacent ground, said Karen Horne, Planning Board chairman.

“It helps the homeowners by eliminating some of the red tape with flood proofing their homes,” Horne said.

The Planning Board brought the article forward with the aim to provide a workaround to the town’s restriction on building height for flood-proofing homeowners.

Currently, houses cannot be more than 35-feet tall in Marshfield without a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Flood-proofing buildings above base flood elevation can push homes beyond that limit. Measuring building heights from the base flood elevation to the roof would alleviate the need for a variance in that case, Horne said.

For non-elevated buildings, the building height measurement would remain from the adjacent ground to the roof.

“For the flood-proofed building, the total height from the ground to the roof may be over 35-feet, but the building height as measured by the article definition would be under 35-feet,” Horne said.

Even under the proposed article, any building that exceeds 35 feet after measuring from the base flood elevation would still need a variance from the Zoning Board, she said.

Former Town Planner Paul Halkiotis said at the joint Advisory Board/Selectmen public hearing on March 25 that the article was designed to make flood proofing easier for homeowners.

“With increased base elevations on FEMA flood maps, those people trying to protect their homes are hitting the top of that 35-foot height limit,” Halkiotis said. “We want to make it easier for homeowners and businesses to flood proof their buildings.”

The article would also establish a definition of building height for Marshfield. The town’s current zoning bylaws do not include a definition of building height, Horne said.

“Essentially the article has no effect unless a structure is being elevated for flood-proofing,” Horne said.